The Diary of Their Lives
by ijimmiedthewindow
Summary: Harry comes across a diary at number 12 Grimauld Place. The unusual part about this diary is that it didn't belong to Sirius. It belonged to someone completely different. Takes place after Harry's fifth year.
1. Escape from the Dursleys

It had been precisely three weeks since Harry had come back to Number Twelve Grimauld Place and it was safe to say that he would rather be anywhere else but there. He had only spent a third of the summer break at the Dursleys. He had tried to run away from them after they had another huge fight and the Dursleys did absolutely nothing to stop him. Apparently, Harry was being rather short with them all summer and mouthing off whenever he found the opportunity. The fight that was cause for Harry's daring escape attempt happened when the Dursleys were playing host to one of Dudley's teachers one night. Harry had been very curious as to what Dudley's teacher had come to say so he decided to eavesdrop. The teacher was visiting during the summer to talk about an honors program that she wanted Dudley to be a part of. "A real prestigious program," Harry had heard her say. He was outraged at the thought of Dudley being given such a privilege when he knew damn well that he didn't deserve it. He waited for an hour and a half, lurking just out of sight and listening for a reason to start something when finally he heard one.

"I must tell you Mr. and Mrs. Dursley that your son is quite the gentleman," the teacher had said with what Harry felt was a very stuck up tone. "I saw him just the other day helping a little boy across the street and I have also seen him helping other boys with their homework." Vernon and Petunia swelled with pride as the teacher raved on and on about their wonderful son. "He is also very intelligent. He has top marks in all of his classes. You both should be very proud of your son."

Harry peeked his head around the corner to see Dudley's big grin and Petunia smothering him with kisses.

"Thank you, Ms. Petty we have always been proud of our Dudley," said Vernon very pompously. "He takes after his parents well, he does. He has his father's intelligence and his mother's caring nature."

Harry had heard enough. He was getting nauseas listening to the strain of lies issuing from his uncle's huge purple face. "You have got to be kidding me!" he yelled as he emerged from his hiding space. Mr. Dursley, who had just taken a sip of tea, spit it out all over Ms. Petty's face.

"I can't believe you three believe this garbage!"

"Go upstairs boy," Vernon said in a voice of deadly calm.

"Did you know," Harry continued, ignoring his uncle completely, "that when you aren't looking he beats up the same boy he helped across the street until he gives him all of his pocket money?"

Petunia gasped in horror. Vernon's face was growing a violent shade of purple.

Harry had of course known this from eavesdropping on Dudley dozens of times whenever he was with his gang. Harry had so little choice of activity and so much frustration that the only thing for him to do was to cause trouble. "Did you also know that when nobody is around, he threatens boys to do his homework for him? Or that he is only getting the grades he has now because he sends threatening notes to boys who don't let him copy their work?"

Ms. Petty was staring silently at Harry as if he was a figment of her imagination that had appeared out of nowhere. Dudley sat wide-eyed at Harry with a look that said, "You did not just say that."

Mr. Dursley was now standing and he looked very much like a volcano that was about to erupt.

"UPSTAIRS YOU!" he yelled, causing spittle to fly from his mouth.

"HOW DARE YOU TREAT OUR GUESTS WITH SUCH RUDENESS!" he screamed louder as his face changed from purple to red.

"UPSTAIRS NOW!"

Harry had never seen him so angry before. He assumed that since Dudley never got this sort of praise before, Mr. Dursley wouldn't want anything to ruin it if he did. Especially if it was Harry who would be the one to ruin it.

"NO!" Harry bellowed. He was a little surprised at his own daring but felt no regret. He would not let Dudley get a reward for something they thought they saw him do.

Petunia gasped again only this time she sounded more offended than surprised. Vernon was somewhat stunned by Harry's response and he stood there silently for about five tense seconds before he remembered that he was in an argument.

"What did you say to me boy?" his voice was deadly calm again.

"I said no," Harry replied, trying to mock his uncle's tone. Petunia, Dudley, and Ms. Petty were looking back and forth between Harry and Vernon like they were following a tennis match.

"If I have to come over there you will regret it boy," Vernon said, eyeing Harry dangerously.

"I'd like to see you try something you great purple faced walrus."

That remark finally set Vernon off. He was charging full speed ahead at Harry with his head pointing forward like a bull ready to strike. Harry dodged left just out of Vernon's way causing him to run headfirst into a shelf. All of the decorations on the shelf tumbled off and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Petunia screamed. Vernon appeared to not have noticed for he simply turned around and charged again with his arms outstretched. Harry dodged him again and Vernon knocked over a rather large and expensive vase. Harry had never seen his uncle act like this, especially while a guest was present. Harry must not have been the only one that the tension and frustration were getting to.

By now Petunia was crying and Ms. Petty had gone full speed out the door in fear for her life. Vernon continued to chase after Harry and break priceless item after priceless item. Dudley soon joined in the fun while Petunia watched helplessly from the stairs. Harry was running out of space to escape. The room was small enough already but now he had to dodge fallen debris as well as Dudley. Before when it was just Vernon it had been easy, but now he was getting tired and he needed a way out but he also needed his things and they were locked away in his trunk upstairs.

After dodging Vernon and Dudley by diving behind the couch, Harry got up and headed towards the door that had been left ajar by Ms. Petty and ran out into the warm evening air. His heart was thumping rapidly in his chest and there was a stitch in his side but he continued to run. He was surprised to see the two of them still following him and he quickly turned right down into the alleyway. He reached the backyard, sprinted across the lawn, darted into the house, closed the door, and locked it shut behind him. As soon as he heard the click of the lock, Vernon reached the door and started pounding on it. He looked like a caged animal deprived of its dinner. Harry realized half way through his victory of successfully stumping Vernon that Dudley was no longer with him. Without hesitation, Harry ran to the front door and bolted it shut just as Dudley's huge hands closed around the doorknob. Dudley knocked a few times and then proceeded to ring the doorbell furiously as if it would help him to get inside.

He could still hear Vernon pounding on the back door and screaming, "PETUNIA! LET US IN! STOP HIM!"

"Oh no," Harry said. His aunt was still in the house. She would probably call the police on him. He turned from the front door and to his surprise Petunia was still standing on the stairs. She wasn't on the phone or even trying to let them in, she simply stood there staring at him.

"Aunt Petunia," Harry said calmly, trying to reason with her, "I'm going to get my things from upstairs and then I'm going to leave through the side window. Please do not let them in."

Petunia just stood in the middle of the stairs, staring at him as if he were mad but saying nothing. Harry would have already been gone if she hadn't been blocking the way to his room.

"Please, will you let me get my things?"

He was trying very hard not to seem threatening for he knew that if he said anything wrong then she would panic.

When Petunia still didn't budge, Harry began to walk towards the stairs slowly. He heard her issue a small whimper and he stopped again.

"All I want are my things. My belongings are upstairs, I just need to get them."

He had almost mentioned to her that his wand was upstairs. He didn't want her to suddenly become brave just because she knew he was unarmed. He wouldn't have used it on her but his wand was still a good thing to have handy in situations such as these.

He began walking towards her again only a little faster. He could still hear Vernon banging on the door and he knew that he would eventually break it down.

He began to ascend the staircase when Petunia finally decided to speak up.

"You can't go," she said in a weak voice.

"What?" asked Harry.

"The headmaster wouldn't want you to. He'll punish us if we let you go."

There was the Petunia Harry knew. She was always thinking of herself. She wasn't at all concerned for Harry's well being.

"No he won't, now let me get my things."

"No, you have to stay," she said.

"Let me pass," he replied as he put his hand inside his pocket to make it look like he was grabbing for his wand. Petunia's eyes darted to his pocket and she flinched slightly. Her lip was starting to tremble but she still wouldn't budge.

"Your mother used to do that," she whispered suddenly. Harry froze. Petunia never talked about Lily unless she was forced to.

"Yes," she hissed, "you never knew that your dear sweet mother used to threaten me with her wand?"

Harry was speechless. Was she telling the truth? Harry couldn't tell. No, she was just lying. She was just trying to push his buttons.

"You're a liar," Harry said loudly, "my mother wasn't that kind of person."

"How would you know that?" she breathed. "You don't even remember her. But that's all right. She's not worth remembering."

"Stop it! Don't talk about her like that!"

Harry's insides were boiling. He hadn't been this angry since his Aunt Marge had criticized his parents.

She stopped talking and smiled a sinister grin. She was playing with him. Why else would she smile at him like that? Her smile looked so evil. But this was so unlike his aunt. It was more likely something his uncle would do. Harry didn't care what she did to him he just wanted to be out of the house and away from her evil grin. He pushed passed her on the stairs and she winced slightly. As soon as he was passed her, he ran full speed towards his room and grabbed his school things. He pulled his wand out of his trunk and held it tight in his hand. He made his way to the steps and as he started to descend he noticed that Petunia was gone. He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. He could still hear Dudley pounding at the front door but he realized when he reached the living room that he couldn't hear Vernon's yells anymore.

Suddenly he heard a roar of anger and turned to see Vernon charging at him again. Petunia was right behind him. Dudley was still yelling stupidly at the door but Harry's heart pounding in his ears drowned out every other noise. He held his wand out in front of him like a sword and Vernon and Petunia stopped abruptly. Harry was aware that his aunt and uncle knew he was not allowed to do magic here but the sight of anything magical, especially a wand, would always strike them with fear. Petunia hid behind Vernon as he stood motionless and wide-eyed.

"Don't come any closer. I'll use it. I've done it before."

"You'll be expelled if you do," he spat, "you're too scared to use it."

Vernon sounded confident but he still didn't budge. "Go ahead," Vernon taunted him, "use it if you're so brave."

Before Harry had a chance to respond, there was a small pop and Mr. Weasley appeared beside him. Vernon started in fear as Petunia shrieked madly and crouched lower behind Vernon. Harry was pretty sure that the two of them hadn't forgotten what happened last time Mr. Weasley visited. Harry was relieved to see him.

"Harry, what do you think you're doing? Put your wand away!" he said completely ignoring their reactions. He sounded slightly out of breath and his hand was inside his pockets most likely grasping his wand. Harry obeyed. He felt safer when he was in the presence of Mr. Weasley. He knew that Vernon was afraid of him.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Vernon yelled but flinched when Mr. Weasley pulled out his wand.

"I was hoping not to bring this out but I fear I have no choice. Harry is coming with me as it is clearly no longer an option to stay here." Arthur gave a quick but stern look at Harry that made him feel deeply ashamed. Harry never wanted to disappoint Mr. Weasley.

"Come on, Harry."

They had eventually left the Dursleys without any struggle. Vernon was so startled by Arthur's sudden appearance that he didn't bother to try anything else but yell. Being in the ministry, Arthur was able to get an authorized portkey to get to Number Twelve. Harry didn't exactly want to go there but he wanted to be anywhere but the Dursleys and hopefully be rid of them for good.

So here he was, the house in which Harry never imagined that he would be standing in again. If it was even possible, the old Black family house seemed darker and more unwelcome then it had ever been. The months that Harry had been away from this nightmare of a house had proved to be a huge welcome for new infestations. It was as if the creatures that had taken new residence had sensed that the house no longer belonged to anyone from the moment Sirius fell through the veil. The thought of having to exterminate the new inhabitants only prolonged the agony that Harry felt due to his recent loss.

Harry was sat on the floor staring up at the tapestry that was imprinted with the Black family tree. His eyes lingered the longest on the small burn mark that had once bared his godfather's name. He replayed the night at the department of mysteries over and over again in his mind and often wondering if there was anything he could have changed. But his mind wouldn't allow him to place the blame on anyone but himself. Every alternative choice that he thought he could have made kept coming back to the same ending. Sirius is dead and it's Harry's own fault. He thought about the same things every day and night; he even dreamed about them. He often walked around the house with a blank expression and not really paying any attention to where he was going. Hermione and the Weasleys were becoming very worried about Harry and would often spy on him to make sure that he wasn't doing anything stupid. It wasn't as if they hadn't attempted to communicate with him, it was just that whenever they did try to strike up a conversation Harry would only respond with one word and, if they were lucky, a weak smile. Mrs. Weasley feared for his sanity and Ron and Hermione felt like they were losing their friend.

"Harry, I'd like you to come down for some tea."

Harry had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed that Mrs. Weasley had entered the room.

"Come on dear, we all want to see you."


	2. The Diary

Harry hesitated but eventually made his way down after Mrs. Weasley. He walked past the heads of the Black's former house elves without looking at them. They made him think of Kreacher and Kreacher was part of the reason that Harry had no godfather. He had a sudden urge to tear all of the heads off of the wall and throw each one at the portrait of Sirius' mother but was distracted by Mrs. Weasley who had turned to talk to him.

"We've been so worried about you. Sitting up there in that dusty, old room all day. It's just not…healthy." She had hesitated on that last word. She didn't want Harry to think that she thought something was mentally wrong with him.

"I'm fine," Harry lied. He didn't bother to lower his voice while passing the portrait of Sirius' mother. He really didn't care if she started to scream, it would have taken his mind off of other things.

"Well," she continued in a quieter voice, "a nice cup of tea will do you good."

Harry didn't say anything. The last thing he wanted to do right now was eat or drink. No, he felt more like going back up to his dark and dusty room to sit on the bed and stare at the wall. That sounded better than making it known to the other people in the house that he was still alive and therefore can attempt to talk about his problems. But Harry didn't want to talk about his problems, he didn't want to talk to anybody, not even his friends, he just wanted the comfort that only solitude could provide him. But nonetheless, a small part of him must have wanted to talk to people for he was still following Mrs. Weasley towards the sounds of conversation and laughter and somewhere, even deeper inside, was a feeling of happiness that came from being in the presence of such warm company.

They made their way into the kitchen and much to Harry's dismay there was a rather large crowd there. As soon as he entered the room, every head turned his way and it made him feel very uncomfortable. Ron and Hermione both had responded with an enthusiastic, "Harry!" when he entered the tiny kitchen. Ginny, who was sitting next to Ron, smiled and waved at Harry and then quickly averted his eyes. Also at the table, to Harry's complete surprise, sat Fred and George, both dressed in what looked like very expensive clothing. They both grinned mischievously at him. Lastly sat Remus Lupin who looked very tired indeed but still managed to give Harry a warm smile.

"Harry I'm so glad you came down," cried Hermione as she gave him an enormous hug, "we've been so worried." Tears rimmed her eyes and her grip on Harry's arm was extremely tight.

"You've been up there forever mate," said Ron as he gave Harry a pat on the back and a worried look.

"I'm fine," Harry repeated, "I'm just tired."

"Well then why don't you sleep while you're up in that room instead of staring at that tapestry all day," said George.

Ginny gave George a stern look as if to scold him for his abruptness but he ignored her.

"George is right, Harry," responded Fred, "it's not good for you to sit in this house all by yourself. You might get attacked by some kind of creature and we would never be able to hear you scream."

George and Ron laughed but Harry only managed a crooked smile.

"Well," said Mrs. Weasley, "why don't you have a seat and I'll make you a drink. Go on, sit down."

Harry sat next to Lupin who was staring at him as if he were hoping for a glimpse of the old Harry, but he never saw it. Truthfully, Harry didn't want to see Remus at the moment. It brought back painful memories of Sirius. Ginny's gaze on the other hand rarely met his eyes and for a moment, Harry felt as if he were back when they first met. She sat there determinedly looking at her folded hands as she started to blush furiously. Harry couldn't help but to smile slightly.

"How are you, Harry?" Remus said suddenly.

Harry shrugged. He was getting sick of saying he was fine and there was no other way to describe how he felt unless it was something extremely unpleasant. He avoided looking at Remus in hopes that he would stop talking to him. He wanted so much to be alone right now. Avoiding his gaze didn't work and he began to talk again.

"Listen, Harry," he began rather slowly and quietly, "if you ever need to talk, I'm here." Harry nodded but still did not look at him. Remus looked as if he wanted to talk to him more but he could tell that Harry was not in the mood. Feeling defeated, Remus finally took his attention away from Harry and towards his own cup as he swirled the contents of it slowly.

"Here we are," Mrs. Weasley said pleasantly as she handed Harry his tea, "I put a bit of something extra in there just for you."

Her eyes lingered a little too long on him as he raised the cup to his lips and Harry hesitated to drink. What exactly did she put in his tea? He felt everybody's eyes boring into the top of his head as he stared down into his teacup.

"What exactly did you add?" said Harry rather sheepishly. He didn't want to seem ungrateful for the tea that he hadn't yet bothered to try.

"Oh, just this and that," replied Mrs. Weasley with a rather guilty looking grin, "just take a sip, it won't kill you, I promise."

He took a quick sip and instantly felt a warm sensation, much like the feeling of being plunged into a hot bath, spread throughout his cold and tired body. The feeling made his arms and legs tingle with suppressed energy and he suddenly felt the fatigue caused by weeks of restless nights leave his body as if someone had drained it from each of his fingertips. This wonderful feeling made his mouth force a smile while deep down he was struggling to make his body feel miserable again. Mrs. Weasley must have put some kind of cheering potion inside his tea for now he felt positively happy. He was now a depressed and lonely soul trapped in a way-too-happy-to-be-real body. Every time he tried to show anger his face would contort into a wide grin and every time he tried to frown he was sent into fits of humorless laughter. Although his face showed differently, Harry hated the result of whatever was put in his drink for now he couldn't even show the effects of the agony and grief that had been building inside of him for a year and a half. He felt words forming in his mouth that he did not want to say but before he knew it they escaped from his mouth like word vomit.

"Thank you," Harry said, "wonderful tea."

Mrs. Weasley smiled happily. "There's the old Harry I remember."

"Mom you didn't have to drug him," said Ron as he watched Harry smile continuously and very unnaturally.

"That's nonsense Ron, I didn't drug him. I just thought I give him a little pick-me-up. I think he deserves that much."

Harry began to blow bubbles in his tea causing a stream of it to run down his chin and collect on the table. Fred and George snorted into their tea as Mrs. Weasley walked over to wipe his chin. Hermione looked positively horrified.

"All right, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley grabbing the cup away from him, "I think that's enough for one day." She walked over to the sink muttering something about putting too much in.

"Well Molly I'd love to stay and help you clean up but I really should be getting to work." Remus said as he pointed to his watch and rose from his seat.

"Excellent excuse, Professor," said George, "mind if I borrow that one for the next time I have dinner here?"

Remus smiled as Mrs. Weasley scowled at George.

"Now George, I know perfectly well the difference between an excuse and laziness having raised two kings of excuse-making myself. I also am still your mother and no excuse of yours will be good enough to get you out of helping me clean."

It was the twin's time to scowl although Remus kept his smile. "Don't worry about it, Remus," she said turning back towards him, "It was a pleasure having you for a while. Don't work too hard."

Remus kissed her on the cheek and started for the door. Before he left he looked once more at Harry and smiled. Harry smiled back but Remus knew that it was only the effect of the potion that Mrs. Weasley had put in his tea. After Remus' footsteps were gone, the room was silent again, although Harry didn't really feel awkward anymore. Ron and Hermione were staring at Harry as if he were some kind of lunatic while Ginny rose from her seat and started to help her mother clean.

"So, Harry," Ron finally broke the silence, "Hermione and I were just talking about who we thought would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

"Oh really," said Harry with a forced tone of enthusiasm, "who do you think it'll be this year then?"

Ron looked oblivious to his enthusiastic response, mainly because he was just happy that Harry was talking.

"Well, I think Professor Lupin will teach again this year," said Ron hopefully.

"Oh Ron, he has so much to do already, he won't have time to teach you lot," Mrs. Weasley said, still occupied with her dishwashing. "I think Dumbledore will choose somebody who isn't already in the Order."

"Yeah, but how can you trust somebody who isn't in the Order," Fred asked.

"Just because somebody isn't in the Order doesn't mean they are untrustworthy," Hermione spoke up.

"Right, like when we had, hmm, what was it, oh yeah, Quirrel who had You-Know-Who himself sticking out the back of his head," said George.

"Yeah, or when we had a former death eater impersonating Moody that one year," Fred said.

"Or, when that Umbridge bi…" Mrs. Weasley shot George a piercing look and he quickly changed his choice of words. "That Umbridge toad sent dementors after Harry that one time."

"Well what about Lockhart?" said Hermione, "he wasn't a traitor to us."

All of the guys in the room choked on their tea.

"Lockhart was a useless bag of dragon dung," said Fred as if it were a proven fact.

"Yeah, and there was the fact that he had taken credit for hundreds of other witch's and wizard's accomplishments all over the world," Ron said bitterly.

Hermione's face turned red and she said nothing more. Both Mrs. Weasley and Ginny hadn't said a word at the mention of Lockhart but Harry could have sworn he saw them both give each other the smallest of glances.

"I think it'll be someone completely different this year," said Ginny, "It's always somebody new."

"That's because nobody in their right mind would take that job again," said Ron.

"What about that greasy git of a potions teacher?" George asked. "He is always going after that job."

"George Weasley, will you stop poking fun at everybody?" said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"I only poke fun at the people who deserve it," said George genuinely.

Hermione made a small grunting noise that suggested she didn't quite agree with George. Harry hadn't been paying attention. The cheering potion was wearing off and he felt as if all of the bad things that had recently happened were happening all over again.

"Well," said Fred looking at his very expensive watch, "I think we've overstayed our welcome. We should head back to the store."

"Right, we'll be back for dinner in a few days or so, whenever we're available," George said importantly.

"All right you two be careful," Mrs. Weasley said hugging her two twin sons.

"Mum, not so tight, I can't breathe," said Fred, gasping for breath.

"Well it's not safe these days, I worry about you kids."

"We're just apparating, we'll be there in two seconds, plus, we aren't children, we're men."

"Well men still need to be careful," said Mrs. Weasley waving her finger at them.

"See you Mum."

"Ron…"

"Ginny…"

"Hermione…"

"Harry…"

All of them waved goodbye as the twins departed and the room instantly felt much emptier. "This is more like it," Harry thought.

Ginny had finished cleaning with her mother and sat back down at the table to join in the silence. Nobody knew what to say. You could always count on Fred and George to strike up a conversation because they were never fazed by anything. Harry had been so reserved and anti-social lately that it was awkward to be around him, even for his best friends and the closest thing to a mother he'd ever had. It became a daily thing to sit in awkward silence around Harry because everyone was always afraid to say something that might upset him. Harry sat with his head down, staring at his own entwined fingers while everyone else searched for a sensitive topic of conversation. Harry didn't care if they ever found anything to talk about. He had become accustomed to the silence he sat in every day. It was comfortable.

"Harry," Ginny spoke up. Out of all the people to begin a conversation while in complete and awkward silence, Ginny was the last person who would do so. Her cheeks and ears were tinged with red. "We were going to clean out the rooms upstairs again, did you want to help?"

Everyone in the room seemed to be waiting for his response. It was an uncomfortable feeling and Harry wanted it to stop. He didn't necessarily feel like cleaning, he'd rather lie on his bed and wait for September the first to roll around but he couldn't just say no. Ginny had been bold to ask him amongst the awkward silence and he felt he needed to give her the answer she wanted to hear. "Sure," he said. Ginny's face relaxed. A smile formed on her face and the red that was spreading all over her cheeks was starting to subside. Everybody else in the room seemed to lighten up as well, all glad that he was still willing to be apart of some sort of group activity.

>>

"I didn't think we'd have to do this ever again," Ron whined as he carried a bucket of cleaning solution up the stairs to the second landing. "I still have blisters from the last time we did this."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well with Kreacher gone things have been getting dirtier even faster. Believe it or not, I saw him cleaning certain rooms last year once or twice. If we're going to use this house for the Order it needs to be clean."

Harry had thought for a minute that Hermione would start talking about S.P.E.W. again but she hadn't. Ever since she learned that Kreacher had been responsible for releasing information to Lucius about the Order and specifically about Harry, she hadn't been as interested in elf rights anymore. She still cared deeply for Dobby and Winky but Kreacher had dampened her enthusiasm for her self-made organization. Harry was quite glad that this had occurred for he despised Kreacher for what he did and he would not have tolerated any sort of justice on his behalf.

The first room they entered was some type of study. There was a desk sitting in the corner near a window that was covered in a thin layer of mold. The desk smelt of rotting wood and, what Harry thought, was the waste of some sort of animal. The walls were a series of tall bookshelves littered with old books and covered in cobwebs. Harry pulled one of the books towards him and a cloud of dust was released, stinging his nose and eyes. Ginny had done the same thing with another book and a small creature that looked similar to a mouse only with small tusks jumped out from behind it causing her to scream. The book landed on the floor with a loud thump and the mouse-like creature scurried back behind another row of books, scratching the leather covers with its tiny tusks.

"I'll bet you can find new species in here," said Ginny recovering from her scare with a clear look of disgust on her face.

Hermione picked the fallen book off of the floor and looked at the cover. "How to Keep your Residence Free of Mysterious Looking Creatures," Hermione read out loud, "how appropriate. It doesn't look like they ever bothered to use this."

Ginny giggled but chose to clean somewhere else.

"I think Fred and George cleaned this room last time," said Ron looking through stacks of books with caution. "They probably left some creatures here to reproduce as some kind of joke."

Harry decided to brave the rotting desk. He walked over to the other side and saw several drawers, most of which looked safe to open. The first drawer he opened was empty except for a few spider webs and a small brown spider. The spider looked similar to Aragog only much, much smaller. Harry was careful not to mention this to Ron. The second drawer contained a very thick layer of dust as well as the third. The fourth had a very inaccurate map of Hogsmeade inside it. Harry figured that this map had to be decades old for some of the shops seemed to not have been erected yet. The last one that he checked had something more disturbing in it. It contained a brown envelope that was blank but there was definitely something inside of it. Harry tore it open and dumped the contents of it out onto the desk. What he saw angered him. Wizard photographs that had ceased to shift and move in their frame were punctured by massive burn holes. The holes weren't the things that bothered Harry, though. Inside the pictures were the faces of some of the Black relatives. Mainly Andromeda, Tonks, and even Sirius. The photos were burned in certain places; one particular one was burned over top of Sirius' face. Harry could tell it was Sirius because he saw his Gryffindor robes and his trademark disheveled black hair. One of the pictures with Andromeda was completely burned in half with the tear right through her neck. Harry even saw a photo of Tonks as a child with her bright blue hair and burn marks were where her eyes should have been. Harry felt a surge of anger at the sight of these pictures. He recognized that most of the people in the photos were the same ones that had been burned off of the tapestry. He remembered Sirius telling him about them. There were hundreds of photos in the envelope, some of them torn into pieces, others burned beyond recognition. Without thinking, Harry violently shoved the photos off of the desk and in doing so, knocked the drawer he found them in down as well with a loud bang.

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all jumped at the sound. "Oy! You trying to give us a heart attack, mate?" Ron yelled as his eyes traveled from Harry to the new mess on the floor. "What are you doing? We're trying to clean in here not make it worse."

"I'm going to clean another room," said Harry hotly. "I really don't care if this room gets clean or if it burns to the ground." He stormed out of the room as the others stared at him in disbelief.

"Oh no, we've lost him again," said Ron dismally as he watched Harry leave the room.

Hermione had rushed over to the spilled photos and let out a horrified gasp as she saw what was on each one. "These are horrible!" she said, truly disgusted.

Ginny and Ron both gathered a handful and let out the same gasp as Hermione's. "Who would do this?" asked Ginny.

"Take your pick," said Ron, eyeing every photo as if they too were covered in mold. "Anybody in the Black family except the ones in these photos could have done it."

"How can there be so much hate over something as simple as where you come from?" Ginny asked innocently.

"That's a good question," Hermione said dropping the photos back onto the desk, "One I think we'll never be able to answer."

"You think we should show these to someone?" Ron asked, putting his handful in the fallen drawer.

"Why? It'll just depress everyone."

"Alright then," said Ron, "let's get rid of them shall we?" With a flick of his wand, Ron made each photo burst into flames and turn to dust. "Much better," he said.

"Let's go find Harry," said Ginny.

>>

Harry had gone up to the next landing in a rage, not knowing exactly where he was going. He realized after reaching the next landing that he had never been there before. Out of all the time he spent in number twelve he had never gone higher than the second floor. He began to randomly search different rooms here and there. The hallway seemed to have an infinite number of doors leading off of it and it reminded Harry of the Burrow with it's unnatural amount of living space. Every room he entered was dark and smelled of rotting wood. He entered one that looked much more inhabitable and he guessed that this was Fred and George's old room. He confirmed his suspicions when his gaze traveled to several Ton-Tongue Toffee wrappers strewn across the floor. The twins were never known for being tidy.

He reached the room that was the farthest away from the stairs and stood in front of the door. He turned the knob and leaned forward but the door wouldn't budge. He jiggled the handle violently and rammed his shoulder against it but it still remained shut. The door wasn't locked, if it were he wouldn't have been able to move the handle as far as he had. No, it was jammed shut as if it weren't opened in months and the mold growing around it was acting more like glue. He backed up several paces from the door until his back was pressed flat against the opposite wall. Then, bracing himself, he ran shoulder first into the door causing it to spring open and bang on the inside wall. Harry rubbed his sore shoulder absently as he peered around the room. The room was pitch black and there was no light from outside the room to illuminate it in the slightest. Harry pulled out his wand and muttered "Lumos" causing a strong beam of light to fill the room. Harry searched for a candle and found one on a dresser near the far wall. He grabbed it and lit it muttering another spell. He found several more candles and lit them until the contents of the room were bright enough to see.

The walls, Harry noticed at first, were covered in papers and photos. Harry saw overtop the bed in the corner a flag that bore the Gryffindor crest, similar to the one Harry had in his room at the Durselys. He also noticed that it was charred at the edges. He thought to himself that the people who did this were pyro-maniacs, as they apparently loved to burn things. He moved closer to the bed and saw a photograph that was miraculously unharmed. It was a picture of Sirius standing next to James and Remus was standing behind them giving them rabbit ears. As the picture moved, James and Sirius turned around and started playfully hitting Remus. The picture kept moving and focused on Lily who was sitting underneath a nearby tree and writing in a small blue book. James called her over and she closed the book and ran over to him. She tucked the book in her robes as she kissed James on the cheek and smiled out at Harry. By now, Remus and Sirius were both giving James and Lily moose antlers. Harry, although he thought it was nice, didn't see Peter at all. Was he the one taking the photograph or was he just not there at the time? But then he looked closer and saw in the very corner that there was a part of the picture that wasn't moving. The reason for this was because there was ink sketched all over it and Harry thought that he saw somebody's foot underneath of it.

The thought hit him like a brick. He examined the photo closely and then his eyes traveled around the room again. There were photos of his father and Sirius everywhere and there were loads of things everywhere that bore the Gryffindor crest. This was Sirius' old room. He pocketed the photo and began to search the room with excitement and curiosity. He looked at most of the photos that covered the walls and saw to his dismay that most of them were ripped up or burned. He then went to the dresser he saw when he first came in and knelt down before it. Cautiously he opened the top drawer and found nothing in it. The second had nothing, as well as the third, but the fourth was filled with papers. There were old Hogwarts schedules and old maps of Hogwarts that were curling slightly at the edges. Harry shifted them around and uncovered a stack of parchment. On the parchment were notes scribbled everywhere. The notes were of several subjects that Harry took himself such as Herbology and Transfiguration. There was even an occasional tic-tac-toe game on the corner of each sheet. Harry raised his eyebrows in confusion. "I never knew Sirius took notes," he said to himself slightly bemused.

He dug deeper into the drawer and froze at what he saw. It was a small blue book that looked extremely familiar. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the photo he had found a minute ago. He looked at his teenaged mother more closely and as she darted towards James he watched her put the book back in her robes. Harry saw that there were the letters L. E. embossed on the front of it. His mother's initials before she was married. He then looked at the book in his hand and wiped the dust away revealing the very same letters. His heart leapt, he had found Lily's diary. Harry wondered for a moment why his mother's old diary was sitting in the bottom dresser drawer of Sirius' old room. Without any more hesitation, he opened the book to the first page. It was blank. He then turned to the next page in which was also blank. He flipped through several more blank pages and his spirits fell. He had seen her writing in this book, there had to be something. But before he could look any further, three shadows appeared in the doorway.

"There you are Harry," came Ron's voice, " we've been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing sitting in the dark?"

"Nothing!" Harry leapt up in surprise and shoved the book into his pocket. "I was just cleaning in here."

Hermione looked around the darkened room. "What room is this?" she asked.

"Dunno," Harry said stupidly.

"I know what room this is," said Ginny in a sudden realization.

But before she could reveal what it was, Mrs. Weasley appeared. "What are you four doing up here, fighting with the furniture? I heard several loud bangs."

"We were just cleaning like you asked us," said Ron.

"Oh well, come on down stairs for some dinner, you've been up here long enough. And what on earth are you doing in this room?" she added as she looked around. Harry had the impression that she knew exactly whose room this was. "Come on, I want you completely spotless before you set one foot in that kitchen."

Harry was the first to leave the room and on the way to the washroom, he bolted into his room and secretly stashed the small blue book underneath his mattress.


	3. The Three Broomsticks

Harry had eaten his dinner at top speed in order to get back upstairs to check out the diary. He was in higher spirits than before and Mrs. Weasley was happier because of it. The best part, in Harry's opinion, was that she didn't ask questions about his sudden happiness. Harry figured that Mrs. Weasley just thought the stuff put in his tea was still at work. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny stared at Harry while he ate ravenously and as he nearly choked on his sandwich. Harry felt that he had actually remained seated for about five minutes all together when he jumped up and handed Mrs. Weasley his empty plate.

Mrs. Weasley looked at him suspiciously, "What's the rush, Harry? I think that was a new record."

"Oh…I…uh…I…just wanted to get back to cleaning, that's all," Harry said rather pathetically.

"Right," said Mrs. Weasley who looked very unconvinced. "Just don't sit up in that room all day by yourself, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," said Harry as he turned to leave the kitchen. He was a little surprised that Mrs. Weasley had let him off that easily but he was also glad she did.

"Harry?" Ron called across the room. "Did you want to go play a game of wizard's chess?"

Harry stopped and turned towards Ron, "Uh…not right now…sorry."

Ron's face fell, "Oh, all right then."

Harry quickly changed his response after seeing the look on his face. "I was just going to take a nap…I'll play with you tomorrow, maybe."

"But didn't you just say you were going to finish cleaning?" asked Ron.

"I changed my mind." Harry's face was starting to redden.

"Oh, okay," said Ron looking crestfallen, "well, whenever you feel like playing, let me know."

"Right," said Harry, heading towards the door again, "thanks for lunch, Mrs. Weasley."

Mrs. Weasley smiled at him as he left but only half-heartedly. Hermione and Ron watched as he left and both of them feared that he would never change; he would always want to be alone. Harry hadn't noticed the mixed emotions spreading throughout the room as he darted out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He was too excited about the diary. He reached for the small blue book under his mattress and plopped down on his bed as his heart started to pound. The adrenaline was flowing throughout his body and he knew that he was finally going to learn things about his mother. He had always heard stories about his father from Sirius and Remus but he never got a chance to hear his mother's side of things.

He took a deep breath as he opened to the first page and again found it blank. He stared at the blank page for a little while. Why would somebody buy a diary and leave the first few pages blank? It just didn't make any sense. After staring at it for a few more seconds, Harry began to turn to the next page when something peculiar made him stop. The page he had been staring at had just flashed a bright green color as if someone had quickly turned a light on and off within it. Harry sat there confused for a second, wondering if it had just been a hallucination, but then something else happened. Dark ink began to form at the top of the page and then, like a small stream, it trickled down throughout the paper. Letters appeared, then words, then sentences, until finally the page was full. Harry was dumbfounded. He blinked twice just to make sure it was real and when he was satisfied that it wasn't going to vanish, he began to read, his heart beating ever faster.

_September 10, 1977 _

_Well, I've finally done it. I've started a diary. I felt I needed to get some of my feelings out on paper before I was to explode. You may ask why I waited until I was 16 to start a diary, but I probably wouldn't be able to answer that question. The truth is that I'm not very fond of diaries. I almost find them boring and a waste of time but my mother gave me this thick blue book just before I left for sixth year. She told me I'd be happier if I wrote about my experiences but I really didn't believe her. I almost gave it to my friend Somara but I held onto it for reasons I'm unsure of. Now here I am, pouring my heart and soul into this book. Actually, now that I think about it, that's a little scary. If someone were to find this, they'd know everything about me. Oh well, maybe I'll learn a spell this year to keep curious eyes away. I'm getting excited thinking about what I'm going to learn this year. I know that sixth years get into extremely advanced magic. I'm already pretty good at charms so maybe I'll learn some new ones. This is actually soothing, writing in this diary. It looks like my mother was right. I have to remember to send her a letter to thank her for this. Speaking of my mother, why don't I tell you a little about my family so I don't keep rambling on about this diary?_

_My mother and father are muggles. I know, it's an odd word that I only learned the meaning to in my first year here, and here is Hogwarts just incase you don't know. I had never even been aware that another world besides the one in my childhood existed. I was eleven years old and it was a shock when an owl flew in through the kitchen window with a letter clasped in its beak. My sister Petunia nearly jumped from her seat and through the ceiling as the bird landed in her porridge and eggs. My father started to swat at it until I showed him that it was holding something. I took the letter from the owl and it immediately flew back out of the window. I looked at the thick letter and found that it was addressed to me. I tore it open with intrigue, very aware that my whole family was watching me. It was from a place I had never heard of so I was slightly confused. I showed it to my father and he slapped his hand over his mouth so fast that I thought he was choking. He told me later after all of the celebrating had died down that the letter meant that I had magical abilities. I was a witch and I was to go to, according to my father, "the best wizarding school in Britain". I was more shocked than my father for I nearly fell off my chair. Apparently my father had a friend when he was eleven who had received a letter from Hogwarts and he told me that I was very lucky to have such a rare gift._

_My sister however wasn't very happy. Hmm…how can I describe Petunia? For one thing she is very stuck-up and I had never really noticed it until that day. She's selfish and she always wants things done her way. When she found out what Hogwarts was she went to her room and locked herself in, she didn't even congratulate me. Before the letter we would always get along like normal sisters would. Occasional fights here and there but we would always tell each other secrets and stick up for each other. After the letter, she constantly ignored me, and when she was forced to deal with me she sent me insults that only I could hear. I don't know what happened with us. I never knew she would be so jealous over something that I had no control over. _

_But enough about that depressing stuff, I'll tell you about school. School is wonderful. I love coming here every year. I have so many friends and what's better about it is that they have gifts just like I do. However, there is always a bad side to everything. There is a particular boy named James Potter that I cannot stand. He and his group of worshipers who follow him wherever he goes are the biggest losers I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Except for Remus, he seems like he actually has some common sense, but I doubt the other two, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, have any whatsoever. Boys! Why do they have to be so tactless? I'll never understand this Potter boy. He acts as if he is the star of the school. You should see the way he walks down every corridor. He walks with his head held so high that I doubt he ever really sees where he's going. AND he and Sirius Black go around hexing people! For fun! Normally I wouldn't be wasting my ink writing about this boy but he has chosen me as one of his targets. He never hexes me, no, but he teases me every chance he gets. My other friend Jenna reckons he fancies me. Ha! If this is true he has a great way of showing it! Plus, I would never date him because he is such an egotistical maniac!_

_Sorry, I had to take a breather. I was starting to tear the page with my quill from writing so hard. Well, I'm looking at this entry and it seems formidable for the first one. I will return to share more with you on another date but now I really should get to sleep. It's almost ten-thirty. Wow, I feel better now that that's out. I really have to remember to write my mom a letter thanking her for this. Okay, that's all for now. Good night, diary._

Harry frowned. It just did not make sense to him that his mother and father had ended up being married. She had written in the diary that she would never date him yet they married practically right out of school. Harry wanted desperately to learn more about his mother and even more desperately how they became a couple. He also remembered Lily describing her sister. Was Petunia really jealous? Harry had always wondered why she was so bitter towards her sister, but jealousy? Harry tucked that away in the back of his memory for possible future use. If he and Petunia ever got into another argument, he'd definitely know what subject to bring up. He flipped anxiously to the next page as if it was a riveting novel and to his surprise it wasn't blank. His eyes devoured the page feverishly.

_November 16, 1977_

_Wow, it's been a while. But I have been seriously bombarded with homework ever since the beginning of October. But there is a good side to this. I've learned a new charm. Well, on my own really. Our teacher just hinted about it in class, he said it would be on our NEWTS next year so I figured I would get a little bit of a heads up on it. Anyway, it's a charm called the Portal charm. What it does is… Oh why don't I just show you?_

That was the end of the entry. Harry sat there confused.

"What in the…?" But he was spared of any more thought. At that very moment, Harry felt the room shift. At first he thought it may have been an earthquake but he didn't hear any shouts from downstairs. He felt a tugging sensation pulling at his arms and legs. It was a peculiar feeling that he was positive he had felt before. Then the room shifted again and he fell face first into the journal. He felt himself falling in a rush of swirling color. He could hear voices that sounded distant and muttered. The colors that had been swirling around him were starting to take shape and the voices were becoming clearer. Finally he felt himself become still and he stood up trying desperately to gain his balance.

He was suddenly standing in a room, a bedroom. It looked strangely similar to the boy's dormitory only slightly different. There were multiple bunk beds as there were in the boy's sleeping quarters and there were scarlet and gold colored blankets. But the walls were a different color than it was in Harry's dorm. In here the walls were painted gold, in Harry's the walls were painted red. It finally hit him as he heard the muttered voices again. They were female voices. He was in the girl's dorm. He had taken another trip into the past like he did in his second year with Riddle's diary. Only this time it was his mother's memory. He looked around the room with much interest. He had never seen the girl's dormitory before because, as he and Ron had found out the hard way one year, boys were not allowed inside. As his eyes traveled around the room in slight amazement he heard a noise behind him. He turned sharply around and discovered his mother sitting on her bed. He hadn't even noticed her. Her fiery red hair was illuminated by the sunlight that was streaming in through the window. She was writing in the familiar blue book that Harry was currently wandering through. Harry wondered if Lily had ever guessed that her son would one day actually be inside of her diary.

Another loud noise made him jump again and he turned around to see two girls giggling and running towards Lily's bed. Harry figured that these were the muffled voices he was hearing. Lily quickly hid her diary from sight, tucking it under her mattress just as Harry did.

"Are you ready, Lily?" asked the girl with very dark brown hair in loose curls swirling around her face. She was fairly short but she was also thin. Her eye make-up made her bright green eyes pop out and a few freckles dotted her round cheeks.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked with an apprehensive look on her face.

Both girls looked at each other and giggled.

"We're taking you to Hogsmeade," said the other girl who had blue eyes and a face full of freckles. Her straight light brown hair stretched far down her back.

"You aren't taking me to see him again, are you?" Lily asked furrowing her brow.

Him? Who was she talking about? Was it James? Harry was dying to yell out and ask them but he knew it wouldn't work. He was forced to stand there in suspense.

"No way. Never. We wouldn't do that to you Lil," said the dark haired girl, who Harry noticed had her fingers crossed behind her back.

Lily crossed her arms and frowned slightly. "I know a lie when I hear one. You two are trying to set me up again."

"Oh come on Lily," the light haired girl pleaded. "He's a cute guy, he's popular, and he's nice."

"And he's conceited, he talks about himself too much, and he has more outfits than I do."

"So what, Lil. He's one of the hottest guys out there right now. Come on you have to meet with him again!"

"No, I will not."

The two girls looked extremely put out, but they also looked far from giving up that easily.

"If you do this one last time we'll never make you do it again, okay?" the light haired girl reasoned.

"That's what you said last time, Jenna. Why do you want me to see him again so badly? Why don't you date him?"

Jenna looked disgusted at the thought. "He would never go out with me. He's on a whole different level than I am."

"What?" Lily looked shocked. "And I'm on his level? Seeing as the type of person he is, I don't want to be on his level, and neither should you." She got up off of her bed and walked over towards the door as if she was going to leave. Harry heard Jenna address the dark haired girl.

"Somara, help me out here!" Somara seemed to be searching for something to say very quickly for Lily now had her hand on the doorknob.

"Lily wait!" she finally yelled.

Lily turned around and leaned against the door crossing her arms again. She looked fairly exhausted.

"Let's just go to Hogsmeade. Not to see him, just to shop." she added seeing the look on Lily's face. "Then unless you change your mind we'll come back here."

Lily seemed to be contemplating this. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were pursed.

"Come on, it'll be good just to get out and we aren't forcing you into anything. You'll be able to decide for yourself. Plus, you can get away from James for a day."

The effect that last sentence had on Lily was almost instant. She stopped staring at the floor in thought and looked up at her friends with a serious look. "Well, alright, I guess a little shopping trip won't hurt."

"Great!" chimed Jenna and Somara in unison.

Harry watched the three of them leave the room before the same odd swirling sensation occurred once again. Harry thought that doing this too often would eventually mess up his equilibrium and he made a note to himself to invent a spell that didn't involve so much spinning.

As the swirling stopped and the colors took shape he noticed that he was just outside the Three Broomsticks. Lily, Somara, and Jenna were standing there, bundled up against the cold holding bags in their hands from various stores ranging from Honeydukes to Dervish and Banges. Harry noticed that it was snowing slightly and it felt bizarre to him that he was so warm with nothing but a short-sleeved shirt on. He wondered why they were standing outside in the cold when they could just walk right into the bar and order a nice butterbeer but as he moved closer he found out why.

"No, I'm not going in there!" Lily said angrily. "You said you weren't going to force me."

"Yeah but we thought that after some shopping you'd change your mind," said Somara.

"I'm not changing my mind. This isn't even a possibility. He doesn't even go to Hogwarts anymore. He's probably three or four years older than me!"

Jenna and Somara exchanged smiles. "So what," Somara said. "That just means he'll be more experienced."

"I can do one year older, maybe two, but four years older? There is something morally wrong with that, especially since he's of age and I'm not."

"Nobody has to know that," Jenna said, still grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Can't you two understand that I don't like this guy? Were you two even listening back in the dorm? I don't like him."

"Lily, you need a man in your life and we're just trying to help you out," said Jenna.

"Well you don't have a boyfriend and you don't see me forcing you into a relationship!" she yelled at Jenna. "I can find a boyfriend on my own without any help from you two."

Her friends looked hurt and Lily seemed ashamed of her outburst but before anyone could say anything else, a young man dressed in long flowing lilac robes walked straight into their conversation. He had the air of an extremely wealthy and pompous businessman. Harry noticed Lily's eyes and Jenna and Somara's smile widen.

"Hello ladies," the young man said, flashing a very charming smile and showing his big pearly white teeth. Harry thought that this guy looked vaguely familiar.

He went on without waiting for a response. "I don't mean to impose but I see we are standing in front of the Three Broomsticks all shivering cold. It is such a coincidence that I happen to be signing autographs inside this very bar for my latest accomplishments in Spain."

Lily rolled her eyes when no one was watching her. Somara and Jenna were staring at him dreamily, most likely not hearing one word.

"You have all heard," he went on, "about my encounter with a bunch of rogue giants, yes? How I single handedly wiped them out all at once with a single wave of my wand?"

Somara and Jenna sighed and batted their eyelashes at the young man who apparently failed to notice that they were even still there. His focus was resting on Lily who was hiding her face and searching through her bags in attempts to ignore him.

"Lily," he said very suddenly. Her eyes traveled slowly to his face as if she were dreading what he was going to say. But he didn't say anything he just flashed his huge, toothy, cheesy grin. Wait a minute. Harry knew that stupid grin. Oh no. No, it couldn't be. It was a twenty-year-old Gilderoy Lockhart. Harry smacked himself in the head for not realizing it sooner. It was so obvious with that grin and those lilac robes. He had always said his favorite color was lilac. If Harry had ever felt sympathy towards his mother it was nothing compared to now. He could tell she was at a disadvantage. She was already practically inside the bar and she was seriously outnumbered. Before Harry knew it, her friends, who were staring at Gilderoy with very hungry looks, were pulling his teenaged mother into the Three Broomsticks. Harry wondered, like Lily had before, why her friends were trying to set her up when it was so obvious that they liked him more.

Harry reluctantly followed them inside and when he entered, several camera flashes blinded him. Harry thought for a moment that the cameramen were taking pictures of him until he realized he had walked right through Lockhart. He stood there posing for several hundred pictures with Lily under his right arm trying to hide her face. Jenna and Somara were hanging off of his other arm trying very hard to act as if they were his girlfriends. Lockhart didn't even seem to notice either of them. After Harry's eyes had adjusted, he weaved through the crowd, still not really appreciating that he was invisible to these people, and found where Lily and Lockhart had sat down. Jenna and Somara disappeared in order to give them some time alone but they were very far from being alone.

Lockhart placed Lily beside him at a very large table piled with pictures of his big grinning face. A line that was made up of hundreds of young witches immediately formed in front of the table. Lily turned red as more pictures were taken. Harry watched in agony as every last witch received a signature from him and as the bar slowly emptied. Every few minutes, Harry would see his mother try to get up and escape but every time she tried someone would ask for a photo in which Lockhart would pull her back over and tell her to smile. After what had seemed like hours, Lockhart put down his quill and turned to face Lily who had been so obviously nodding off.

"Wasn't that fun, Laura?" Lockhart sighed.

"No," said Lily groggily but with attitude, "and my name isn't Laura, it's Lily."

"I am so glad you agree, Lisa," said Lockhart who hadn't heard a word she said. "You see, I've always wanted a girl who could endure the pressures of fame with me." He wasn't even looking at her; he was staring at the ceiling as if recalling a favorite memory. "Ever since I met you I have felt a special sort of attraction to you."

"Why was I wearing your favorite color or was I holding up a mirror," she mumbled.

"When I was fighting those giants with my bare hands I thought of you as inspiration. Of course, I could have fought them off without it."

"I thought you said you used a wand," Lily asked, not really expecting him to answer.

"But anyway, when I was near death, I thought of my dear Linda and I was given a sudden new hope."

"Can't he just stick with one name?" Lily mumbled under her breath. She was completely positive that Lockhart would never hear her unless she complimented him.

"Your face and my excellent use of a wand brought me back safely. Oh excuse me."

He stood up to take a picture of himself for a Ravenclaw girl who had wandered over. She was giggling profusely and both Harry and Lily rolled their eyes. Lily seized the opportunity to escape but was again too slow.

"Now, what was I talking about, Louise?" he asked.

"Oh I don't know. Your enormous ego I suppose?"

"Oh, oh, right, the giants. Well, as you know..."

"Gilderoy!" Lily snapped so suddenly that even Harry jumped in surprise.

"Yes, Lizzie?" he replied calmly.

"Could I have an autograph?"

Harry was surprised. Why was she asking him for an autograph?

Lockhart smiled widely. "Of course you can! How could I forget to give my dear Lola an autograph? Silly me."

He scribbled his name down in big twirling hoops and stared at it for a long time until handing it to Lily. "Thanks," she said and then tore it straight down the middle. Lockhart froze and then his smile melted straight off of his face. Harry had never seen him look so gloomy.

"Look, Gilderoy. I am sick of hearing about your stupid adventure with the trolls..."

"Giants, Lori."

"...My friends set me up with you, I don't like you, and you should buy a mirror so you can talk to yourself all day instead of boring me or any other girl to sleep!"

"But, Lois, I thought you liked me. You asked for my autograph."

"That was to get you to listen to me! You wouldn't stop talking! Now listen up! I am leaving and don't you dare try to stop me, and leave my friends and I alone for good! Got it?"

"Uh, okay, Leelee," he said. Harry could definitely tell he was in fear for his life.

Lily put on her coat and gathered her bags and then turned to leave. When she was half way across the room she turned around to look at him. "Oh and by the way, my name is Lily!" With that she grabbed her friends and stormed out of the bar, receiving several stares as she went.

Harry felt himself swirling again as he left the diary.

_I still cannot believe those two talked me into that today. I thought they were my friends. They have no idea what it's like being with that guy. Every subject he talks about has something to do with himself. I'd probably rather spend the day with James. No, never mind. I don't think I'd go that far. Wow I must be really tired, thinking about rather spending the day with James than another guy. I'm starting to scare myself a little. It's been a long day and I need to go to bed. But don't worry I will be back to write another entry. I'm really enjoying this new spell. All right then, good night._

Harry was once again sitting on the bed at Number twelve, staring blankly at the pages in which he had just come from. He couldn't believe that Lockhart, his self-absorbed former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was interested in his mother. Well, he was actually more interested in himself that day. Harry thought of how exhausting it must have been for him to be so egotistical his whole life. He also thought about Lily's outburst. He would have never imagined that something like that would happen, but it was extremely amusing.

Wanting to find out more, he opened the next page to read on. But suddenly, a noise outside of the room made him close the diary and shove it under his mattress. He realized that the room he was sitting in was now very dark. He must have been wondering around in Lily's diary for hours. He quickly pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes as the door opened.

"Yeah, he's asleep," He heard Ron whisper.

"Oh okay, well goodnight, Ron." Hermione whispered back.

"Goodnight."

Harry heard the door shut and then Ron climbing into his bed. After a while he heard Ron's snores and it didn't take long for him to realize that he too was exhausted.


End file.
